Some Residents To Get Say In Time Zone Debate

FRANKLIN, Ind. -- Johnson County residents are going to get the opportunity to address the issue of which time zone they want to live in.

Monday morning, county commissioners said they will schedule a public meeting to see whether residents prefer the eastern or central time zone when Indiana goes on daylight saving time next spring.

Johnson County's residents may be the only people in the area to get a chance to publicly address this issue, RTV6's Norman Cox reported.

Leaders of most of the counties surrounding Indianapolis have already said they will go along with whatever Indianapolis decides.

Last week, an aide to Mayor Bart Peterson said it was his inclination not to have any hearings and to stay in the eastern time zone.

At their weekly meeting Monday morning, Johnson County commissioners conceded it wouldn't be realistic for them to have a different time zone than Indianapolis, but said they still want to know what their constituents prefer.

"It will be the state of Indiana and Marion County largely controlling where we're at," Johnson County council president R.J. McConnell said. "We can certainly make our collective voice known as a county."

"Instead of waiting to see what big brother does, let's find out what the people of Johnson County want," councilman Mitchael Ripley said.

The date and time of Johnson County's hearing will be announced at the regular commission meeting next Monday.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has set a Sept. 16 deadline for any counties to file petitions to change their time zones.